WASHINGTON - The United States Mint will open sales for the 2011
American Eagle One Ounce Gold Uncirculated Coins at noon Eastern Time
(ET) on May 5, 2011. The coin's cost is based on the United States
Mint's pricing structure for precious metals products. Current pricing
information is available at http://usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=goldplat.

Orders will be accepted at http://www.usmint.gov/catalog or
at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers
with TTY equipment may order at 1-888-321-MINT (6468). A $4.95 shipping
and handling charge will be added to all domestic orders.

Customer
demand will determine the number of 2011 American Eagle One Ounce Gold
Uncirculated Coins minted. There is no order limit.

The
American Eagle One Ounce Gold Uncirculated Coin is the collector version
of the American Eagle Gold Bullion Coin. Struck on specially burnished
blanks, the coin bears a finish similar to its bullion counterpart but
has a "W" mint mark, indicating its production at the United States Mint
at West Point. Each coin is encapsulated in plastic and mounted in a
presentation case accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

-Featured
on the obverse of the 22-karat gold coin (heads side) is Augustus Saint
Gaudens' full-length figure of Liberty. The coin's reverse (tails
side) features Miley Busiek's image of a male eagle carrying an olive
branch flying above a nest containing a female eagle and her eaglets.

The
United States Mint, created by Congress in 1792, is the Nation's sole
manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing
circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce.
The United States Mint also produces proof, uncirculated and
commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and
platinum bullion coins.

Note: To ensure that all members of
the public have fair and equal access to United States Mint products,
orders placed prior to the official on-sale date and time of May 5,
2011, noon ET shall not be deemed accepted by the United States Mint and
will not be honored. For more information, please review the United
States Mint's Frequently Asked Questions, Answer ID #175.

I'm not saying they should be discontinued. I'm merely saying that almost any action of the government, whether directly or through a proxy, has an element of circus evident in it now that has risen to the level of smack in the forehead.

This is the fancy collector's edition. If you want to pay bullion price, buy the bullion version. Every time the mint does one of the collectors editions and then limits production, Tyler posts a story implying that the mint is not going to produce the regular version either.

It's comletely predictable. He did it with silver eagles last year. Because the mint is not producing more collectors versions so that they can use all their blanks for the bullion version, and now he's doing it for gold.

Interesting that there is no limit and production is based on demand. So when do they plan to cut off the ordering? If production is based on demand, how to they determine the upper limit of the demand?

That's just the initial setting of the over/under. As bets......um......indications of interest are placed they can move the line up or down to balance the book. All they care about is the 15% vogorish. :>)

Are you seriously asking if there is some law restricting the government? HA! 2 international assassination attempts, 1 successful, and a war by executive decree already this year, but maybe there is some law that will let you keep your gold. HA! OM

The only way you can prevent it is to buy gold overseas through an offshore trust or non resident company. It is not illegal to own assets overseas, only to evade paying taxes on them if you are required to at home. The trick is to avoid the deeming provisions which allow the tax office to tax you as the beneficial owner of an offshore trust or company which is far more difficult but by no means impossible.

They cannot instruct you to sell what is not legally yours, they cannot tax you on what you have no entitlement to and they cannot take what is beyond their control...

JFK conspiracy theorists like to point to the triffin dilema and Executive Order 11110, but less publicised is Executive Order 11037, which reads,

"Except under license issued therefor pursuant to the provisions of this order, no person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States shall, after the effective date of this section, acquire, hold in his possession, earmark, or retain any interest, legal or equitable, in any gold coin, gold certificates, or gold bullion, situated outside of the United States or any securities issued by any person holding, as a substantial part of his assets, gold as a store of value or as, or in lieu of, moneyand not for a specific and customary industrial, professional or artistic use. The Secretary of the Treasury, subject to such other regulations as he may prescribe, is authorized to issue licenses permitting the acquisition and holding by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States of gold bullion situated outside of the United States which the Secretary or such agency as he may designate is satisfied is required for legitimate and customary use in the industry, profession, or art in which such person is regularly engaged."

Is it an indication of where the price of Gold is going that the "Pricing of Numismatic Products Containing Gold Coins" chart the US Mint produces shows a Gold range of $2,000.00 to $2049.99 at the bottom? Or are they just projecting one of many possible realities in our multi-verse?

It is a collector coin, doofus. It has a numismatic premium. If you want the regular bullion Eagles then you'll have to go to the primary dealers or secondary market. The bullion coins are sold in bulk to selected dealers for distribution to the weary masses. Get with the details so you don't make a dunce of yourself.

As RR has pointed out many times in the past the true value of Gold and Silver numismatic coins may be that they are considered US currency and thus less likely to be confiscated than general (US Gvt or non US Gvt) bullion.

True. Even when gold was confiscated there was an exclusion for collector coins.

What part of article was misunderstood about these being numismatic coins?

The American Eagle One Ounce Gold Uncirculated Coin is the collector version of the American Eagle Gold Bullion Coin. Struck on specially burnished blanks, the coin bears a finish similar to its bullion counterpart but has a "W" mint mark, indicating its production at the United States Mint at West Point. Each coin is encapsulated in plastic and mounted in a presentation case accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

The shallowness of some of the comments here about the "premium" and how they ain't gonna pay it reveals a serious lack of information at levels where one would think it most important.

RR - I'm usually on your side but I want to disagree about your thoughts on the premium issue. I think ppl here get it. What they are saying is that they are not coin collectors, they're gold collectors. And therefore they place no value on the numismatic element. To each their own...

Exactly! We are on the same team. This "article" is nothing but a Mint press release and should not even be on ZH. The obvious objective, as is evidenced by the "title" of the "article" is to inflame and provoke.

It's a legimate question. Personally, I wouldn't pay that sort of premium. I'd rather pay as close to spot as possible on a Kangaroo. Paying that premium is a gamble that the premium holds or even increases. That's a risk I don't want...

I have always wondered that myself...I think I figured it out. When traveling this world, you are not allowed to carry more than $10,000 in currency. Well, if you just carry $10,000 at face value of 1 oz American Eagles( $50 each), you can transfer $320,000 in gold out of this country at a time with no laws being broken. Correct? I actually think this was done on purpose. Same with Silver Eagles ($1). You can take 10,000 of these out of the USA without a red flag...it is just currency...right? 10,000 eagles allows you to transfer $500,000 out of this country with Customs Forms. Think about it.

I have told my story about taking out over $10,000 in gold before, so I will not repeat it other than to mention to everyone that the (outbound) US Customs Agent told me "Right answer" when I declared their real value.

Let's not overlook the fact that there may also be limits where you're going on how much you can import, and they won't value it at $42/ounce...

Might I suggest that the ideal solution is a trade off, to hold some of your bullion somewhere where you can use it as collateral for a credit line that you can take in any currency in any country. Not saying you should keep it all there, but some of it certainly avoids the need to move or store large quantities of coins or bullion at home or move it with you as you go...

Definitely a fascist state, inherently contradictory definitions are used in different statutes. Therefore, the traveler is at the mercy of the state, and if the traveler makes even a verbal admission, much less a protest, to the state that the coins are worthless than $10,000, then the State turns around in court and tells the judge that they would happy to turn over less than $10,000 in FRNs, and the traveler is sent packing. At least there is still a right to remain silent in the US, even if few are smart enough to avail themselves of that right.

"And why doesn't the indicated value on the coin doesn't change? Why not put 1500$ on the coin? 20$ WTF!

It is legal tender but WTF, THIS is so contradictorial to the real value of the dollar!"

Here's the quick math to explain:

The U.S. Dollar's value was originally set at 1.555 g of gold. One ounce of gold is 31.10 g.

1.555 / 31.10 = 0.05 (or 1/20th)

Therefore, if the dollar was originally pegged long ago as being worth 1/20 an ounce of gold, then a 1-ounce gold coin has a "face" value of $20. Yes, it's laughable nowadays, but there's the history.

So how much has the dollar declined in relation to the value of gold?

If today's spot is about $1560 (give or take), then the dollar **should** be worth $78.00. One dollar (today's value) divided into 78 (what it should be) is about 0.0128, which means the dollar has lost almost 99% of its gold-backed purchasing power over the last century. Of course, it's not a true barometer since gold is a market-traded commodity nowadays and not a currency foundation, but you get the idea.

This "article" (press release) is really out of place. There are no numismatists here to speak of, and it's not a real bullion product. When the Mint was selling silver below melt, which I posted comments on numerous times, there was nary a peep from our Tylers. What's going on here?

There was a window when they were below melt. I also posted about the America The Beautiful 5 ounce coin set (25 total ounces) that the primary dealers were dumping out of inventory. I picked up 3 sets (75 total ounces) for an average of $39.40/ounce. I get a little peeved when the values are there, made common knowledge, but all folks want to do is gripe and complain about the entire gov't structure. Shit people, they're screwing up and giving us metal for good prices occasionally. This article concerns a product that is not a good value -- today. Next year this may look like a great deal. Who knows. The Mint is not requiring anyone to buy their stuff! Buy what you want, where you want and stop complaining. (That's a general comment not directed at my favorite Dick Head.)

When I saw the RR post about the 2010 US Mint 5 quarter silver proof set, the price of silver was over $35 and the set was $32. Which means it was about even considering the 5 quarters represented 9/10's of an ounce of silver. By the time I received confirmation that my CC had been charged (4 days later) the price of silver was pushing $37.

There is not a "typical" spread to look for. The Mint is a big place and has an unbelievable variety of products. Once in a while bargains slip through. The gold pricing chart that is linked to is a fairly new tool for the Mint. The old pricing mechanism was to have a percentage over the Mint's acquisition cost. This was giving the primary dealers an unfair advantage in that the dealers could/would sell for well above this cost. The advance in PM spot has been a headache for the Mint. They really are good people, but it happens to be a government entity with all the bureaucratic crap that makes pricing a retail product very difficult.

Best advice I can give is to stick to bullion (that does not come in a velvet-lined box) of your own country. Always fall back to your original reason for having the metal. If it's for trading, then watch the spot pricing and swing in/out as your gut will allow you. If it's for the long term store of value (which gold/silver do well as a currency) then hold on and buy when you have the money. There is no one strategy that is best for everyone.

What?? Where is Congressman Weiner......USA selling gold $400 over cost?? They are robbing people blind and making a profit selling their gold........ What a horrible horrible evil corporate position to take, making money on gold!!!!! Congressional hearings, where are they?

i paid a huge premium for $1 silver proofs in december 2010. they're $20 higher than where i paid for them 5 months ago. not saying it'll happen again. but they sure are fun to look at for 30 seconds before going into the safe for eternity.

Proofs still have a premium above the bullion products. I recently sold another dealer all my proof eagles, including several original Mint boxes of proof silver eagles (they are in boxes of 5 from the Mint), from the mid 1990s vintage for $52 each. My cost in the 90s was $12 to $14 each. Why sell? Take the fiat and trade it for pure bullion eagles. It's a strategic move rather than a "trading" move. I'd rather have more silver in the cheapest form as opposed to the numismatic value of the proofs. As the value of silver rises, the spreads for numismatic value narrows. This holds true for other coins like better, graded Morgans.

I hold almost all pure bullion products and I wanted to purchase some (proof) numismatic issues for diversification. When you pointed me towards those 2010 US Mint 5 quarter proofs at near spot I grabbed a wheelbarrow full. Many thanks. It was a great way to buy proofs at near spot without the normal premium.

You are still my favorite coon. I'll leave the light on anytime you wish to raid my garbage can. :>)

I have been watching the close in numismatic spread, still going to hang onto my hoard of fractional 2008 Buffalo proofs though (all direct from the mint), didn't do too bad on the 2009 UHR's in MS 70 at sub $1400 either. Not something you want to dabble in unless you have some idea what you are doing though. At the end of the day, however, it is still gold (or silver) and graded numismatics may be somewhat more confiscation resistant than straight bullion. Not that I won't go all "...cold, dead hand." regardless.

Your strategy appears to be very sound. No Mint products in proof version or in Mint packaging will ever be confiscated. Many not in the business don't realize it but there are some very sympathetic ears in Congress for the numismatist. Many things will be excluded in a confiscation scenario, as well as sell/buy rules being looser than we'd think.

The 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin went on sale January 22, 2009, had no maximum mintage, was initially priced at $1,189 per coin, and limited of one per household. Opening day sales were 28,173 coins. After four days, sales reached 40,727. More than six months after the start of sales, the ordering limit was increased to ten coins, later increased further, and eventually removed.

The premium for this coin was INSANE! But it sold anyhow. So -- how does a 1 ounce, limited issue, blazing nice, coin for $1,189 sound to you TODAY?

Everyone here should have backed up the truck. This short-sighted bullshit over premiums is nonsense. Making money today over yesterday's price is just crazy thinking.

where is tmosely-claven to tell everybody to buy buy buy buy with both hands?

All the technicals showed silver was grossly overbought. The midday spike in gold, up 20 then back down 20 is a bizarre chart. topping hammer or tombstone doji. We'll see how the price action looks in the coming days. But for now, SLV was utterly CRUSHED on 4x avg volume

For what it is worth, and I am not sure if it is available to anyone or if you need an invite, but ebay emailed me a week ago with a promotion for Win7 and IE9. If you download IE9 and pin ebay to your taskbar in Win7, you get 10 ppercent ebay bucks for any purchase bought by accessing througjh the pin from now until May 18. Limited to $200 per transaction and $500 total ebay bucks in a quarter. Long story short, I bought a 2011 gold eagle MS70 from secured bullion this past weekend for $1725 shipped. Take 10% ebay bucks, 2% credit card cash back and a $5 bonus ebay bucks for first purchase and it cost me just over $1500. I bought a lot of pm below spot this past weekend. My $500 credit had been met, so feel free to look into it since I will no longer be competing on the bids. ;-)

There was a similar thing with Bing when it came out. A 10% discount for searches that resulted in purchases. I loaded up on a lot of silver off eBay with 10% off. Nice deal. I forget the max but I think it was up to $2,000 in discounts.

I could be mistaken, but I'm sure the only coins you can buy from the Mint are overpriced proof finish coins ($1780/oz). Anyone who qualifies as a direct buyer must buy 1000 ounce minimum for gold coins.

Ummm...Not sure I get the title to article. In fact, the uncirculated gold Eagles were not produced in 2009 or 2010 due to the mint struggling to keep up with demand for regular strike bulllion Eagles. It's great that the mint is bringing back the uncirculated gold Eagle for 2011, no order limit. The silver Eagle sold out in a day just last week.

The Central Bank of DoChenRollingBearing is pleased to announce the exchange of Silver Eagles for Gold Eagles in addition to purchasing more with FR confetti. This the largest amount of gold ever purchased at one time in the Central Bank's history.

This of course ensures that we are at a near a top (sorry, topcallingtroll).